A well-known Venezuelan historian and man of letters, Ramón Díaz Sánchez is uniquely qualified to write on the cultural heritage of Venezuela. Dividing his account into three aspects, he deals with the highlights of cultural advancement from prehispanic days to the present. After introducing his subject with various statements and definitions the author proceeds to examine the cultural makeup of his own nation. Skillfully woven, this summary includes history, geography, and a discussion of the various population strains in Venezuelan society including the Negro, on whom he has published an earlier work.
The last section of the book describes the intellectual growth since independence and covers a wide variety of topics. One of these, which historians would like to see expanded, is Venezuelan historiography of the last two hundred years. The treatment is not exhaustive, but the author’s comments are significant. In conclusion Díaz Sánchez observes that rural influence was dominant in Venezuela until the first quarter of the twentieth century. From that period petroleum has become increasingly important until, at the present, it is the controlling factor.
Although brief, the volume presents valuable contemporary judgments by one of Latin America’s most distinguished scholars. No bibliography is appended, but footnotes serve both as a bibliographic aid and as an explanation of the text.
